Why is Weight The Only Solution Being Offered To The Problem Of Traction?

   / Why is Weight The Only Solution Being Offered To The Problem Of Traction? #41  
All about leverage. A taller tire is like a taller gear. Ie 4.10 verses 2.55.

2.55:1 is taller than 4.10:1, but yes, a larger-diameter tire yields more distance traveled per revolution, just like taller (numerically lower) gears.
 
   / Why is Weight The Only Solution Being Offered To The Problem Of Traction? #43  
As I think about it, I think it has more to do with tangents and vectors. With a taller tire, more of the force is close to parallel with the ground.

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   / Why is Weight The Only Solution Being Offered To The Problem Of Traction? #44  
If it was just about Weight, you could hang 1,080 lbs + 1lb on the BX2680, and it would win a tug of war on the L2501. I would bet against that!
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   / Why is Weight The Only Solution Being Offered To The Problem Of Traction? #45  
If it was just about footprint, you could put duals or triples on the BX and it should do as well as the L2401?
 
   / Why is Weight The Only Solution Being Offered To The Problem Of Traction? #46  
Taller tires have a longer contact patch with the ground. And in softer conditions.....they arent trying to constantly climb up out of their own hole so to speak.
 
   / Why is Weight The Only Solution Being Offered To The Problem Of Traction? #47  
If it was just about footprint, you could put duals or triples on the BX and it should do as well as the L2401?
Its about both.

IF you put equal size tires on them, and they weighed the same, the traction would be the same. Then it would come down to gearing. Provided they both had the power to spin the tires, the tug of war would be a stalemate.
 
   / Why is Weight The Only Solution Being Offered To The Problem Of Traction? #48  
On asphalt maybe. In dirt, I'd bet on the taller tires. If you took that example to the extreme, you could have tires about 4" tall and 6' wide. I'd still bet on the taller tires.
 
   / Why is Weight The Only Solution Being Offered To The Problem Of Traction? #49  
And in softer conditions.....they arent trying to constantly climb up out of their own hole so to speak.
A while ago my cousin talked about helping on the farm in the ealrly1960s. He recalled plowing with my dads JD720 diesel pulling a 4-14. "Must have had quite the jugs on it because it was keeping right up with the neighbors internationals." One of my earliest memories was dad filling those tires with water and glycol - more weight. I would agree, larger tire diameter would definitely help in soft conditions. But then its not so much about just friction alone, but adds that "climbing out a hole" part. Actually, there are recomendations for "optimal slip" when pulling high draft implements, somewhere around 10%. Weight, tires, draft, and just enough slip to not wear the drivetrain, yet get the work done.
 
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   / Why is Weight The Only Solution Being Offered To The Problem Of Traction?
  • Thread Starter
#50  
Correct me if I'm wrong but the taller tire can cover more distance in a shorter amount of time then the shorter tire.
 

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